next day
Just as dawn was breaking, Liu Anran woke up, turned to look at Yunlong sleeping beside her, and found that he was also awake. She asked softly, "Yunlong, why didn't you sleep a little longer?"
"I can't sleep." Yunlong said, rubbing his eyes. He asked, "Mom, where are we going? Didn't you say there are monsters outside and we can't run around?"
“But if we don’t go out to find food, we will starve to death. Do you want to starve to death?” Liu Anran asked.
He and Yunlong couldn't stay indoors all the time, only drinking water, apples, and peaches; rice and vegetables were their staple food.
The apocalypse is of unknown duration, and food will only become scarcer. They simply cannot compete with others. If she and Yunlong want to survive, they must go out and find seeds to plant in the fields within the space, so that they can continue to live.
Yunlong shook his head; he didn't want to starve to death, the feeling of hunger was too unbearable.
“We don’t want to starve to death, so the only way we can have a chance is to go out and find a way to survive.” Liu Anran said, touching Yunlong’s tender little face. “Yunlong, Mommy doesn’t want to die, and I don’t want you to die either. We have to live well.”
Yunlong looked at Liu Anran, his eyes filled with affection and a hint of expectation, "Mom, Yunlong wants to live, and wants to stay with you forever, is that okay?"
“Okay, we’ll always be together,” Liu Anran promised.
Liu Anran knows no one in this world, and Yunlong is her only support. Let them depend on each other for survival in this cruel apocalypse!
"Get up and wash up, then we'll leave," Liu Anran said, sitting up and preparing to get out of bed.
“Okay!” Yunlong said obediently.
After Liu Anran and Yunlong finished washing up, Liu Anran took out a bottle of water and placed it on the table. She then took out a few apples and peaches from her spatial storage and washed the peaches in a small basin.
When Yunlong saw Liu Anran washing peaches in a small basin, he quickly said, "Mom, you said we should save water."
In real life, Liu Anran always washes fruit by running tap water, thinking that using a small basin of water to wash peaches is already very economical. Yunlong's words made her suddenly realize that in the post-apocalyptic world where clean water is scarce, using half a basin of water to wash peaches is indeed too extravagant.
"The toilet stinks horribly. I'm going to flush it with the water I used to wash peaches," Liu Anran said seriously.
Yunlong wrinkled his nose and sniffed; it really did smell bad.
Looking at Yunlong's adorable appearance, Liu Anran's eyes flashed with a smile. She handed an apple to Yunlong, saying, "Eat an apple first, then a peach."
Upon hearing this, Yunlong's eyes lit up, and he asked excitedly, "Mom, can I eat whatever I want?"
Liu Anran: "Sure, you can eat as much as you want."
Upon hearing that he could eat fruit as much as he wanted, Yunlong happily accepted the apple and started eating. He was determined to eat as many as possible.
Liu Anran washed the peaches clean. Yunlong had already finished an apple, so he picked up a peach and started eating it. After finishing the second peach, he patted his belly and said, "It's so good to be full!"
Liu Anran felt a pang of sadness, grateful that she had her own space so that Yunlong wouldn't have to go hungry in the future.
After Liu Anran and Yunlong finished eating, she took the backpack from the bedside, carried Yunlong on her back, and then put her backpack on. Suddenly remembering that there was no bed in her space, she simply put the bed into her space as well. Then she instructed Yunlong, "Hold on tight. No matter what you see, you are not allowed to speak, and you are especially not allowed to cry, because that will attract zombies and bring us danger, understand?"
Yunlong nodded heavily. He would definitely not speak or cry.
Liu Anran picked up a baseball bat, opened the door, quickly closed it again, and ran towards the stairs.
Not long after Liu Anran left, the door next door opened a crack, and an elderly man in his seventies or eighties peeked out, sighed as he watched Liu Anran's back, then pulled his head back in and carefully closed the door.
As soon as Liu Anran reached the entrance on the first floor, she saw an elderly woman with white hair, dull eyes, stiff gait, and making hoarse noises. Upon seeing Liu Anran, she let out a hoarse roar and walked towards her.
Even though Liu Anran was mentally prepared, she was still terrified when she saw the zombies. Her heart was pounding, her hand holding the baseball bat was trembling, and she couldn't help but take two steps back. But when she looked down, she saw Yunlong's face was pale with fright, but his eyes were full of trust as he looked at her.
Liu Anran's eyes flashed with determination; she could not back down. For herself and for Yunlong, she had to forge ahead.
Suppressing her fear, Liu Anran gripped the baseball bat tightly, watching the elderly zombie getting closer and closer. She kept telling herself that it wasn't human, but a monster, a monster that would bite. Gritting her teeth, she charged at the elderly zombie, striking it on the head with all her might. Foul-smelling blood and white brain matter splattered onto Liu Anran's body and face, and the elderly zombie collapsed to the ground with a thud.
Liu Anran felt nauseous and wanted to vomit, but before she could, several more zombies approached her.
Liu Anran didn't have time to wipe the blood and brain matter off her face; she quickly ran towards the entrance of the residential area.
As Liu Anran ran, she said, "Yunlong, don't be afraid, hold on tight to Mommy, Mommy will protect you."
Liu Anran's biggest fear was that Yunlong would cause her trouble, otherwise both she and Yunlong would be doomed.
Yunlong held Liu Anran tightly, looking at the zombies chasing behind them, he closed his eyes in fear and didn't dare to breathe.
As the zombies in the neighborhood surged toward her, Liu Anran's heart pounded violently, like a drumbeat, almost leaping out of her chest.
A young man upstairs yelled at Liu Anran, "Run faster, you idiot! The zombies are all swarming you!"
"Taking a child out like that is practically suicide," a middle-aged man said.
"If she doesn't run away, is she just going to sit at home and wait to die? Are you willing to support her?" a woman said with a laugh.
“If she’s willing to come with me, it’s not impossible,” the middle-aged man said.
...
Ignoring their words, Liu Anran ran desperately toward the entrance of the residential area. When she was almost there, she saw a security guard come out of the security room. When he saw her, he roared and walked toward her, moving much faster than the old zombie she had just encountered.
"Holy crap!" Liu Anran couldn't help but swear. Could it be that the younger zombies walked faster, or had the zombies already evolved?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com